For those of you familiar with the IT Services and Support Section, you’ll be happy to know that the group is the same, but with a new name and an enhanced commitment from CompTIA. This is the most tenured CompTIA IT community, but has a cross-section of new and more seasoned industry executives as members. The IT Services and Support Community has been the springboard for several organization groups and industry initiatives, including the IT Security Special Interest Group (developed the Security Trustmark) and A+ Certification. Adding the new designation (Executive Forum) allows the group to emphasize its mission and commitment to foster innovation and lead discussions on topics that matter most to the industry.
Who belongs to this community? The group is made up of people who care about the industry, have some time to share their experiences and perhaps lead the group or a project, and realize the benefit of collaboration. Members are executives of IT service provider organizations, distributors, vendors, or parts logistics companies.
Why join? If you’re an executive or services leader in the technology field, there are a host of opportunities for you in this community. Today is just one of four IT Services and Support Executive Forum meetings to be held this year, where all members are invited to attend and will lead many of the discussions and workshops. Beyond the numerous networking opportunities at the Tampa event, attendees will learn more about the top trends and technologies (by Heather Clancy, former CRN editor and consultant), receive updates on industry developments, work on current and potential initiatives, and develop best practices and programs to benefit the industry.
Here are a few of the current initiatives the group will cover over the two days of meetings, with members encouraged to contribute to areas that most interest them or their organizations.
- Identifying Best in Class Services
- Benchmark Study and Report (European Services)
- Green IT Services Study
- Service Delivery Optimization Research
- Skills Shortage/Skilling Study
- Reduction of No Problem/Fault Found Parts Study
I’ll be providing updates today and tomorrow on the meeting to give you a feeling for the events, so please check back or add the blog to your RSS feeds. The live meetings are only one part of the IT Services and Support Executive Forum, but there are other ways to benefit from being a member. I’ll provide some additional details throughout the meeting, but for more information, please go to http://www.comptia.org/membership/communities/servicesupport.aspx.
– Brian Sherman, CompTIA Roving Reporter
